CookieCows

This thread is helping me so much as I know now that I'm just going to have to stop trying to think of ways to jerry rig something and buy a heating pad. Since we're going to start up the aquaponics pretty soon and plan on enclosing it on our back deck for year round salad growing I'm going to need to be able to sprout seeds without having problems and with the growing obsession with banana growing and tropicals ... well I have that personality quirk that my husband just shakes his head at .... like saving money by making my own bread. Causes me a ton more work and saves us very little. LOL He has an analitical brain and..............I don't!

I WILL go check out the prices at the pet store to see what those heating mats are running and hook up to timers though if they're alot cheaper.

Lots of good info. on this subject and I've checked out the stores mentioned also. Would love to go visit them. You guys have so much experience. I've learned so much in my short time with this forum.

Deb

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chong

I use a small desk lamp to heat the base (pot) of my small Siam Red. The focus of the lamp is aimed at the soil. For the actual lighting, I have another desk lamp with a 13 watt fluorescent lamp, 18-inches above the plant, directly over it. If your seeds require bright light, you could use both incandescent and fluorescent lamps together. The incandescent will heat the soil and actually provide the red rays that support root formation. However, to provide heat to the roots, you need to get the lamp close to the soil. The risk of burning the new growth is great, depending on how close the lamps are to the plants.

For starting seeds, I use the Hydrofarm heating pad for the bottom heat, and the fluorescent above. This way I can control the heat with a bulb thermostat in one of the trays. Since they are in the greenhouse, the fluorescents are 2feet over the domes. They are only used for "fill-in" light, since although most of the light comes from the sun, the problem here in Seattle, as y'all are aware of, the sun is hardly seen here, especially in the winter. Today, though, the sun actually appeared in full glory. Must be why church attendance was low today.

Another thing about incandescent lamps: I read, sometime ago, that too much of this light spectrum can actually slow down, or even inhibit, the sprouting of some seeds. So, make sure that you check on the lighting requirements for your seeds.

jellyfish_sky

I find it hard to use a desk lamp alone to germinate seeds. Like Chong said, to give enough heat to your plants the lamp would have to be very close to the soil. Using a heating pad is much easier to control temperatures. If you're on a tight budget, try looking for home-made germination stations posted around here, though it takes a bit more time to set up.

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Celine

Bananaddiction~!